1. Tell-tales on a sail don't tell you where the wind is coming from. They show you the airflow over the sail and whether the sail is trimmed correctly for your course. Nothing more.

That's what I thought. Maybe I'm not sophisticated enough to use just the tall-tales, but I prefer to have both those and the Windex. One tells me the general origin of the wind, and the other lets me know when the sail is trimmed properly. I wouldn't be able to use only one and do as well as I should -- at least not with my current level of skill.

If it's not about constant checking on your sails, but rather an intermittent, and general check, perhaps a Kestrel windmeter (handheld) might be the right choice. Some of those have wind direction too (I believe those models uses an ultrasonic sensor for direction).

If it's not about constant checking on your sails, but rather an intermittent, and general check, perhaps a Kestrel windmeter (handheld) might be the right choice. Some of those have wind direction too (I believe those models uses an ultrasonic sensor for direction).

They're far from cheap, though.

Spiting into the wind is free, and it will give you a good idea of how fast it's blow'n as well. Pi$$ 'n in the wind is also free, great visual on directon and force.

That's what I thought. Maybe I'm not sophisticated enough to use just the tall-tales, but I prefer to have both those and the Windex. One tells me the general origin of the wind, and the other lets me know when the sail is trimmed properly. I wouldn't be able to use only one and do as well as I should -- at least not with my current level of skill.

No-one can without tell-tales. When aerodynamic engineers are wind tunnel testing cars they cover them with tell-tale tufts to illustrate the flow over the model. They also use smoke generators to help the same way but we don't have that option on boats.

I, myself, personally intend to continue being outspoken and opinionated, intolerant of all fanatics, fools and ignoramuses, deeply suspicious of all those who have "found the answer" and on my bad days, downright rude.

Telltales really let you know how the wind is flowing over the sails before any backwinding or turbulence is apparent in the fabric of the sail itself. When using a 150%+ genny, being able to see windflow and what the interaction is between main and genny is very helpful to get the sails working up to their potential. It's amazing how much difference becomes apparent in small adjustments of cunningham, outhaul, downhaul, twist, and sheeting angles. Just a small adjustment in jib tension/angle often gets rid of a lot of turbulence that you might not notice without telltales.

I guess I'm a sloppy lazy sailor. I get my sails trimmed by looking at their shape, my angle of list, and my seed. If I'm moving along at good clip, bone in my teeth, I'm happy. Never really paid too much attention to the riibons.

I guess I became hooked on telltales when I had my Lightning. They are great little boats for learning about sail tuning because you can really see and feel the results of sail adjustments more-so than on a heavy displacement boat. Aaron, you ever run into a guy named Pete Pedersen. He's an old buddy who now lives down your way, has a 40' Blackfin out of Cudjo.

I guess I'm a sloppy lazy sailor. I get my sails trimmed by looking at their shape, my angle of list, and my seed. If I'm moving along at good clip, bone in my teeth, I'm happy. Never really paid too much attention to the riibons.

You need to ratchet up your level of OCD. When the wind is as consistently light as it is here in the summer, you look for every bit of performance you can get.

I, myself, personally intend to continue being outspoken and opinionated, intolerant of all fanatics, fools and ignoramuses, deeply suspicious of all those who have "found the answer" and on my bad days, downright rude.

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